Bøger af L. Ron Hubbard

Primed for promotion to the World-Journal city editor, grizzled senior reporter Pop is stunned when it's announced that young Leonard Caulborn, the publisher's son-in-law, will get the post. Worse, the lad wants him out. In protest, Pop demands to be given a beat again and gets his wish. . . only now he's got just two days to find the "e;real"e; story about a dead-end assignment- a month-old physics lecture- or be fired.

An obscure original manuscript of Marco Polo's travels . . . A tantalizing clue to the site of Kublai Khan's fabled burial site . . . A chance to unearth the truth behind a long-lost treasure. It's an opportunity that would make Indiana Jones drop everything but his whip and race off to China. But he'd be too late. Lieutenant Jonathan Daly is way ahead of him.Two bullet holes and a bad case of malaria may not be enough to stop Daly, but a crew of criminals, a brood of British agents, and the entire Chinese army are all in the game . . . and determined to keep him out of it. The stakes are too high, and the potential rewards too great, though, to let a little treachery, betrayal and human sacrifice stand in Daly's way.He's hot on The Trail of the Red Diamondsa cache of exceedingly rare gems that were meant to light the way to heaven as an offering to the gods. And only God knows if Daly will manage to dig up the diamonds . . . or end up buried with them.It was on Hubbard's second journey to East Asia that he met British Secret Service agent, Major Ian MacBean, who introduced him to a world of deception and conspiracy in the region. He also learned of the thrivingand dangeroustrade in stolen Chinese treasures. As if to underscore the authenticity of The Trail of the Red DiamondsHubbard published the story under the byline Lieutenant Jonathan Daly, the hero of the piece.Also includes the rousing adventure Hurricane's Roar, the story of an American pilot in Mongolia who whips up a storm of death-defying air battles . . . in the search for peace.

Winchester Remington Smith is a crack shot. Problem is, surrounded by roller coasters and merry-go-rounds, his talent is going to waste, knocking down ducks in a carnival shooting gallery. Win wants some real action, and like Gary Cooper as Sergeant York, he's going to warrunning off to join the U.S. Marines to fight a guerilla insurgency south of the border. In the jungles of Central America, Win takes a different kind of roller coaster ride. Quick and quiet, he's now a runner. It's a vital role, but he feels like a messenger boy, unable to put his rifle to good use. Even when he saves the life of First Sergeant Fifty-Fifty O'Briena Marine so gung-ho he has about a fifty-fifty chance of survivalWin ends up facing a disciplinary hearing for disobeying orders. Can the young sharpshooter redeem himself? Win's about to get his chance, an opportunity to deliver a message that the Marines will never forget.Hubbard knew exactly what it meant to be a Marine. As he wrote in 1935: ';Most of the fiction written about [Marines] is of an intensely dramatic type, all do-or-die and Semper Fidelis.' But the reality, he said, was far different. ';I've known the Corps from Quantico to Peiping, from the South Pacific to the West Indies, and I've never seen any flag-waving. The most refreshing part of the U.S.M.C. is that they get their orders . . . and do the job and that's that.' It's that kind of unique and pointed insight that he brings to stories like Fifty-Fifty O'Brien. Also includes the military adventures The Adventure of X, in which a French Foreign Legionnaire's intelligence mission leads him into an enemy ambush, and he has to warn his fellow Legionnaires before they walk into a massacre; and Red Sand, the story of a disgraced Chicago cop who joins the Legionnaires and finds his investigative skills invaluable in the desert.

Before Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark were even a gleam in Spielberg's eye, one intrepid pilot flew out of the sky in search of treasure . . . only to find a bit of hell on earth.Captain Gordon lives like he fliesby the seat of his pants, taking on any job and all comers. Now he's bound for the forbidding mountains along the shores of the Arabian Sea, transporting a team of anthropologists on the trail of Alexander the Great. But ancient history is about to come to dangerous life with the discovery of a long-buried mapa map leading to high adventure, untold treasure, and cold-blooded murder. . . .Gordon's headed deep into The Tomb of the Ten Thousand Deadunearthing a secret that could bury him.Not only was Hubbard steeped in the history of the ancient world, he was also an avid adventurerboth in his own right and as a respected member of the famed Explorers Club. As such, he brought a wealth of insight, experience and authenticity to all his tales of adventure. Also includes two additional adventures: The Price of a Hat, in which the key to the Russian Czar's life is hidden in a most unexpected place, and Starch and Stripes, the story of a U.S. Marine who sets a trap for a tropical warlord that reverberates all the way back to Washington.';An exciting story told at a brisk clip, with characters and dialogue that keep readers glued to the page: Hubbard at his best.' Booklist* An International Book Awards Winner

Meet Lieutenant Flint: hard-edged and muscle-bound, radiating machismoa bull of a soldier. In the opposite corner stands Captain Turner: with his pencil mustache and tailored shirts, he's a Trick Soldiersmart, crisply-dressed, and always at attention. They're fire and ice, oil and water . . . Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox in Casualties of War.Ten years ago and a thousand miles away, they attended boot camp together. They didn't get along then . . . and they don't get along now. Reunited in the Haitian jungles, in the midst of a fierce rebel uprising, they confront the most dangerous enemy of alleach other.It's time for heroes to rise and cowards to fall, and in the case of Lieutenant Flint and Captain Turner, bravery runs deep. When brute strength confronts military honor, the true measure of a man is not in his fists, but in his heart.A First Sergeant with the 20th United States Marine Corps Reserve, Hubbard knew exactly what it meant to be a Marine. As he wrote in 1935: ';Most of the fiction written about [Marines] is of an intensely dramatic type, all do-or-die and Semper Fidelis.' But the reality, he said, was far different. ';I've known the Corps from Quantico to Peiping, from the South Pacific to the West Indies, and I've never seen any flag-waving. The most refreshing part of the U.S.M.C. is that they get their orders . . . and do the job and that's that.' It's that kind of unique and pointed insight that he brings to stories like Trick Soldier.Also includes the military adventures He Walked to War, in which Marine Sergeant E.Z. Go appears to take it easy, but always gets the job done . . . even if it's hard as nails or dangerous as hellin the end E.Z. does it; and Machine Gun 21,000, the story of a soldier who loses a gun and faces a court martial, but finds a way to save the day.

Flying into action, daredevil photojournalist Johnny Brice is always looking for trouble . . . and more often than not, finding it. But he doesn't know what real trouble is until he rescues the beautiful woman he calls Jinx from a sinking ship. Like Bogie and Bacall, they're made for each othereven if they are a dangerous mix. Get the picture? Well, Johnny always does. The problem is, with Jinx now in the picture, all his photo-scoops are going down the drainlosing his film to water, fire or war. And it all comes to a head on assignment in China, when the Japanese shoot his plane down and take Jinx and Johnny prisoner. Their lives at risk, it's time for Johnny to get the real story about the lady. Is she really a jinx . . . or something even more sinister? In an adventure full of surprising discoveries, getting at the truth leads to the most shocking twist of all.L. Ron Hubbard had first-hand experience of flying high with Trouble on His Wings. As a young aviator, he loved to tempt danger. One journalist wrote: ';The flaming-haired pilot hit the city like a tornado a few years ago. . . . He just dared the ground to come up and hit him.' The knowledge and insight he gained during those flights is clearly evident in his aerial adventure stories.

He's a handsome American Lieutenant in the French Foreign Legion. She's a beautiful woman who's as fiery as the North African sun . . . and as mysterious as the far side of the moon. And she's all hisbought and paid for in the village square. Put them togetherCary Grant and Hedy Lamarrand you're sure to get fireworks. The only reason the Lieutenant bought her was to free her from the slave trade. But now that he's got her, he's got trouble. Two violent native tribes are determined to get their hands on the woman . . . even if it means unleashing an all-out war. The warriors lay siege to the outpost3000 of them versus 60 Legionnaires within. Can the Lieutenant hold the fort against the onslaught? And how long can he fend off the powerful feelings he has for the woman in his care? And, finally, does he have any idea of the secret in her past that could change everything?On the subject of North Africa, Hubbard said that writers too often ';forget a great deal of the languorous quality which made the Arabian Nights so pleasing. Jewels, beautiful women, towering cities filled with mysterious shadows, sultans equally handy with robes of honor and the beheading sword.' Hubbard brings this unique insight to his stories of North Africa and the Legionnaires, investing them with an authenticity of time, place and character that will keep you asking for more.

When former captain of this army and that, Phil Sheridan, lands on the shore of the forgotten Indonesian island of Kamling-jewel of the Banda Sea-he's captured instead of welcomed by warriors of a primitive and bloodthirsty tribe. Marched to the natives' camp, he meets Jose Emanuel Batista-one-time slave trafficker, long-time murderer, and now self-appointed tyrant. Using his smooth-talking tongue and shooting skills to escape, Sheridan finds temporary shelter at the lodgings of a miner and his beautiful daughter. With limited arms and supplies to hold off Batista and his men, Sheridan must take a desperate chance and journey ever deeper into the jungle. His plan? Enlist the help of headhunters who may be more interested in his head than in driving out Batista's regime and ending its tyrannical reign.

Stop the presses! One hundred thousand dollar reward offered for the return of George Harley Rockham! That's more than enough to turn Shanghai newspaperman Jimmy Vance's head. Throw in the gorgeous dame who's offering the rewardRockham's daughter Virginiaand he might lose his head altogether. As fast-talking as Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story, Vance jumps at the chance . . . the money . . . and the girl.But as Jimmy quickly discovers, there are several billion reasons to watch his back. Because that's how much Rockham is worth, and there are some very hard cases out there willing to kill to separate the old man from his money.Next thing Jimmy knows, Virginia's tied to a chair, and he's got a couple of guns pointed at his head. But it'll take more than a little rope and a couple of firearms to keep this reporter down. The truth is tied to the mysterious fate of a steamship named Shanungand what Jimmy finds could be the biggest story of his life . . . if he lives to tell it. In the issue of Smashing Novels where this story first appeared the editor wrote: ';Loot of the Shanung is a soul-stirring tale of the China Sea, a story of modern piracy set in the Far East. L. Ron Hubbard wrote it. He knows China. He has been there. He traveled through the country and met the people and observed their customs. Smashing Novels will have other stories from himstories of far-off places and little known people. He knows of what he writes.'

In The Great Escape and Papillon, Steve McQueen embodied the tough guy on the run from captivity and injustice. But when it comes to toughness, McQueen is following in the daring and determined footsteps of Captain Spar. Wrongfully accused, Spar has been condemned to suffer the brutality of the guards and the conditions on Devil's Island. But they haven't broken his will, and now, escaping, he has one mission in life: revenge. Spar's out to kill the man who put him into the devil's hands. But he'll have to take on a gallery of rogues who are as treacherous as the waters of the Caribbean. Pressure is rising and a storm is brewing. But even in the face of a natural disaster, Spar discovers that nothing is more volatile than human natureas temptation and danger are about to collide with Hurricane force.In 1937 L. Ron Hubbard wrote to one of his editors: ';You might have noticed that I am intensely wary of becoming any kind of a story specialist. I have sold the gamut of types: air war, air, western, detective, love, terror. . . . My one passion is to build a name for variety. . . . I like my freedom. I fight hard for independent individualism. I love to tie into a yarn and make it blaze in print.' Hubbard's passion for writing, creativity and individualism certainly blazes across the page in stories like Hurricane.';Hurricane will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end as it unfolds.' Mommy's Favorite Things * An International Book Awards Finalists

Cast Spencer Tracy as Speed Kyle, master-builder of the hottest, fastest planes around. Then give the role of Cal Bradley, daredevil test pilot who pushes those planes to the limit, to a young hotshot like Tony Curtis. Add Grace Kelly as Speed's blond bombshell daughter who fears that Cal will go too farand you've got a winner. And as far as Speed and Cal are concerned, winning is everything. Speed's company is bleeding cash, and they need money quick. They're competing in the upcoming National Air Meet, and to the victor goes the spoilssome extremely lucrative contracts. But there's sabotage in the air and love on the groundand together they make a very volatile mix. If you love fast planes, fast action and unforgettable women, grab onto Hurtling Wings and hold on for dear life.As a barnstorming pilot in the early days of aviation, Hubbard was dubbed ';Flash' Hubbard by the aviation magazines of the day. He covered air meets and the latest developments in aviation, advising pilots on flying in adverse conditions. His unique and pioneering insight of flight streaks across the page in novels like Hurtling Wings.

Some men look to keep the peace. Others look to make trouble. But sometimes even the most law-abiding of men are compelled to cross the line.Easy Bill Gates is just such a manas quick with a smile and as slow to anger as Gary Cooper in High Noon. He's a model of restraintuntil he's forced to strap on a holster and kill the outlaw who murdered his brother. But more than his honor is at stake. A ruthless land baron is out to grab Bill's ranch and he's hired a gang of gunslingers to get Bill out of the way.Between the rancher who wants to take his land, and the young guns who want to take his life, Easy Bill will have to make some hard choicesand fast drawsto avoid becoming just another notch in the Gunman's Tally. Hailing from the western states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Montana, Hubbard grew up surrounded by grizzled frontiersmen and leather-tough cowboys, counting a Native American medicine man as one of his closest friends. When he chose to write stories of the Old West, Hubbard didn't have to go far to do his research, drawing on his own memories of a youth steeped in the life and legends of the American frontier.Also includes the Western adventure, Ruin at Rio Piedras, the story of a young cowboy kicked off a ranch for falling in love with the owner's daughteronly to devise a whip-smart plan to win the dayand the girl.';Outstanding.' Midwest Book Review

Sheriff Kyle of Deadeye, Nevada, is headed east to the nation's capital. Like Dennis Weaver in the television series McCloud, Kyle's about to discover that the law can be even wilder in the big city than in the Wild West. It's a fact that hits home when he's the one accused . . . of murder. Kyle's come to the city to give a report to his senator on the misdeeds of Nevada's filthy rich copper kings. But before he has a chance, he's knocked unconscious, later coming to alongside his senatornow dead, with Kyle's knife imbedded in the corpse. Welcome to Washington D.C., where corruption, intrigue and murder are all in a day's work. Kyle's got no alibi, no memory, and apparently doesn't have a prayer . . . unless he can find a way to outwit, outfox and outmaneuver the masters of deception and double-crosses.Much like Kyle, L. Ron Hubbard was born and bred on the western frontier and made his way east to explore and experience life in Washington, D.C. But unlike the sheriff, Hubbard enjoyed his time in the capital, where he went to college at Georgetown. He came to know the ins and outs of the city as well as he knew the arroyos and canyons of the west, giving him the kind of insights he needed to write stories like Killers Law. Also includes the mysteries They Killed Him Dead, in which a respected homicide detective solves a murder several times over, only to be proved wrong again and again, to the amusement of his fellow cops; Mad Dog Murder, the story of a patrol officer who dreams of joining the homicide squad, and finds that the ticket to advancementand romancemay be a Pekinese dog; and The Blow Torch Murders, in which every criminal in town is eager to turn himself in . . . and the reason is a real killer....some of the most carefully and beautifully crafted trade paperbacks of our time. Mystery Scene

The ancient jungles of the Yucatan hide a world of secrets . . . the secrets of wealth, love, and fate. Now daredevil pilot Kurt Reid is about to tempt fate and fly into the heart of that jungle in search of his destinyan adventure as daring and dangerous as any undertaken by Indiana Jones.He's looking for gold, but not just any. He's after one particular nuggetflying blind into a tropical haystack in search of a very valuable needle. Thanks to his grandfather's vexing dying wish, his entire inheritanceas well as the shape of his futurehangs on the success of his journey.As if that weren't bad enough, Kurt soon finds that his family legacy runs deep and dark in the Yucatan. The Mayans mistake Kurt for his grandfather, and they've got fifty-years worth of revenge to serve up. Whether he lands on the sacrificial altar or in the arms of his sexy co-pilot Joy, things are bound to heat up fast in pursuit of Forbidden Gold.In 1931, as a student at George Washington University, Hubbard founded the college Glider Club and within a few months a respected columnist said ';he is recognized as one of the outstanding glider pilots in the country.' Later he wrote as the aviation correspondent for the prestigious flying magazine Sportsman Pilot. His combined writing and flying expertise comprised the perfect recipe to give stories like Forbidden Gold their authentic flavor.

Mart Kincaid, a tall, ruggedly good-looking young man in the Clint Eastwood mold, may be the fastest gun in the state, but it does him no goodbecause his gun and his life are not his own. They belong to Gar Malone, the King of Concha Basin, a ruthless rancher driven by his thirst for power, wealth, and conquest.Now Gar has set his sights on the Singing Canyon spreadthe richest land in the basinand he commands Kincaid to run its true owners off. If not, he threatens to reveal a dark secret that could ruin Kincaid's brother.But there's more to the Singing Canyon ranch than Kincaid bargained for. There's the Drake familyspecifically the lovely young Sally Drake. The last thing Kincaid wants to do is drive her away. Meaning he's got to get out from under Gar's thumb, and put his trigger finger to work. It's time to settle up, once and for all, with the blackmailing Malone. Most of the Westerns published in the all-fiction magazines of the first half of the twentieth century were written by authors more familiar with the streets of New York than the cattle trails of Texas. Hubbard bucked the trend, and in the process changed the face of the Western adventure. He grew up in a time and a place where the Old West, though fading, still lived. His unique knowledge of the frontier, of its ways and its people, made him an authentic voice of this unique American experience.Also includes the Western adventure Blood on His Spurs, in which two men have to find a way to end their feud . . . or pay a high price in blood and money.';Heart-racing plot charges at the speed of thrumming horses' hooves.' Library Journal

Insurance investigator Brent Calloway may be too hard-boiled to crack a smile, but he'll go to any length to crack a case. As tough, terse and tireless as insurance man Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity, Calloway's about to go to extremes to see to it that one ship makes it safely from Hawaii to the mainland. Going undercover and posing as ruthless killer Spike O'Brien, Calloway quickly discovers that on this ship nothing is what it seems, and no one can be trusted. With so much insurance money at stake, and the whole crew apparently in on the scam, this could end up being a voyage to the bottom of the sea. . . . And when the real Spike O'Brien shows up, it's Calloway who'll need a good insurance policy. Because life is cheap when the stakes are so highon a ship of lies bearing a False Cargo.A veteran sailor who had voyaged long and far, L. Ron Hubbard knew well the life at sea. He once wrote in his journal: ';There is something magnificently terrible about a savage sea in the unwholesome green of half-dawn. . . . The ship is an unreal, fragile thing, full of strange groans, and engine and sails are dwarfed in their puny power when matched to all the countless horsepower in wave and wind and current. The whole world is an awesome threat. Alone, wet, hungry, hand cramped upon a tiller, a sailor knows more truth in those hours than all mankind in his millions of years.' Also includes the sea adventure Grounded, in which a Royal Air Force lieutenant loses a friend and tarnishes his reputation, and sets out in search of redemption . . . no matter the price.

Imagine that your father is one of New York City's top gangsters, and that you want nothing to do with him or his criminal empire. Now imagine he's been murdered . . . and the only person who gives a damn is you. Meet Mat Lawrence, a stand-up guythink Gary Cooperwho's got one thing on his mind: revenge. The last place Mat wants to go is back to New York, but that's where the killers are, and he won't stop until they're dead . . . or he is. And there's only one man who can help him track them down: his father's criminal attorneythe Mouthpiece. But there's more than a desire for revenge at play in this deadly game. When Mat's old man went down, a million dollars went missing. Put it all togethera cold-blooded murder and a cool million goneand it's a pretty good bet that the one thing Mat is sure to find is some serious heat.Mouthpiece was originally published in the September, 1934, edition of Thrilling Detective. That same year, as the youngest writer ever to serve as president of the New York Chapter of the American Fiction Guild, L. Ron Hubbard sought to promote greater accuracy in the writing of detective and mystery stories. To that end he invited the coroner to speak to the Guild members over lunch. He later recounted that ';they would go away from the luncheon the weirdest shade of green.' But, we can assume, they also went away better informed. Years later, expanding his studies in the area, Hubbard became a special officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. Also includes the tales of mystery, Flame City, the story of one man's harrowing attempt to save his father and the city from a serial arsonist; Calling Squad Cars!, in which a police dispatcher goes to extraordinary lengths to bring down a gang of bank robbers after he is accused of working with them; and Grease Spot, the story of a former racecar driver, now the owner of a wrecking company, who plays fast and loose with the police . . . and may have to pay for it. * A Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award Winner

U.S. Navy Lieutenant Steve Craig is in one hell of a mess. Being accused of murder is bad enough, but the local police are convinced he's killed his own father. Alfred Hitchcock couldn't have conceived a more diabolical plot for Cary Grant . . . and now, for Steve Craig, the plot is about to get down and dirty.Steve's safe from the cops as long as he stays aboard his Navy shipbut the word safe isn't in his vocabulary. He slips off the vessel and vanishes into the seamy underside of the city, determined to find out who took his father's life . . . even if it means risking his own.He follows a trail of smoke and mirrors and sudden violence to the Brass Keys to Murder. With them, Steve will seek to unlock the terrible truth behind his father's death . . . and an astonishing secret that will change his lifeand that of the woman he lovesforever.Ron knew well the life at sea and the world surrounding it. Not only was he the son of a naval officer, he traveled back and forth across the Pacific, plied the China coast in a working schooner and commanded an expedition aboard a four-masted ship to the Caribbean. He walked the waterfronts of countless ports, sharing stories with the colorfuland often shadycharacters inhabiting them. Originally published in April 1935 under the pen name Michael Keith, Brass Keys to Murder is a direct result of those adventures.

American Ann Halliday is as sexy as Rita Hayworth and as fiery as the Sahara sun. And now she's feeling some real heat, as the prize captive of the Berber leader Abd el Malek . . . also known as ';The Killer.'But Abd el Malek wants Ann aliveand in chainssubject to his every whim and fantasy. Dusty Colton, however, an American deserter from the French Foreign Legion, has a different idea. With all the swagger of Robert Mitchum, he's determined to give ';The Killer' a taste of his own bloody medicine. The only problem is . . . Dusty himself is wanted for murder.Can Ann and Dusty team up and turn evil on its head? One thing's for surebetween Ann and the Hell's Legionnaire, the temperature is about to get even hotter.On the subject of North Africa, Hubbard said that writers too often ';forget a great deal of the languorous quality which made the Arabian Nights so pleasing. Jewels, beautiful women, towering cities filled with mysterious shadows, sultans equally handy with robes of honor and the beheading sword.' Hubbard brings this unique insight to his stories of North Africa and the Legionnaires, investing them with an authenticity of time, place and character that will keep you asking for more.Also includes the adventure stories, The Barbarians, in which a Legionnaire sets out to avenge a savage killing and makes a stunning discovery, and The Squad That Never Came Back, the story of a man who has uncovered the secret to a city of golda secret that could turn into a death sentence. ';Action-packed . . . standout . . . hard-core graphic.' Library Journal

In the Arizona territory, every mountain hides a fortuneand every man fends for himself. Tim Beckdolt,rangy and self-reliant, is as American as the frontier itself. But after spending eight treacherous months digging $175,000 in gold out of Desperation Peakall he has left is desperation. Two sadistic strangers have taken his gold, and now they want to take his life. He's on the runthe target of a Devil's Manhunt. In a time and a place where the only law is the law of survival, Beckdolt will have to live by his witsor die by the bullet.In 1932, Hubbard led a mining crew on a six-month West Indies Mineralogical Expedition in Puerto Ricothe first complete survey of the island since it had become an American territory. It was an experience that informs this title with remarkable realism. Also includes two additional Western tales: Johnny, the Town Tamer, the story of a local swindler who meets his match, and Stranger in Town, in which a drifter confronts a corrupt sheriffand his own dark past.';A thrilling novel of greed, violence, survival and perseverance, Devils Manhunt perfectly embodies the unbridled excitement of pulp fiction.' Midwest Book Review